Discourse & Influence in Ancient Philosophy and Leadership Ethics

Discourse and Influence in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Leadership Ethics.

- a workshop on normative issues in ancient philosophical treatments of dialectic and rhetoric and in contemporary leadership studies related to the persuasive use of discourse in leadership.

Workshop, 18-20th September, 2014. University of Leeds. (Bookings now open.)
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/info/125196/leading_minds_research_project/2414/events

Part of the Leading Minds Research Project in Ancient Philosophy and Leadership Ethics.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/leadingminds

Speakers:

Dr. Sophie Aubert-Baillot   (Université Stendhal Grenoble 3)
Prof. Joanne Ciulla   (University of Richmond / Jepson School of Leadership Studies)
Prof. Jackie Ford   (Leeds University Business School)
Prof. M.M. McCabe   (King’s College London)
Dr. Ian McCready-Flora   (Columbia University)
Prof. Dominic Scott   (University of Virginia / University of Kent)
Dr. Rapahel Woolf   (King’s College London)

Context:

Contemporary leaders and leadership scholars increasingly recognise (e.g. Ciulla 1998, 2004, 2005, 2013) the importance of ethical understanding and ethical methods to the practice of leadership today. Leaders are faced with decisions about how to try to bring about change in the organisations and communities they lead – where different approaches can prioritise radically different types of activities (communicating vision, leading by example, mentoring and coaching, advertising and the use of media, listening and seeking consensus, and so on). These concerns go beyond the familiar evaluation of these methods empirically for their (causal) effectiveness in generating various kinds of outcomes. They concern the desirability of the different outcomes generated by these various methods; and they concern the propriety of the methods themselves. These concerns and questions mirror the critical scrutiny raised historically within western philosophy (esp. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Cicero) about the value and propriety of rhetorical and dialectical methods of influencing others. There is a philosophical literature on these thinkers and these issues, but (1) it is often limited by being insufficiently applied to the practices of persuasive dialogue and speechmaking to which it relates, and (2) it is rarely brought to bear on contemporary leadership and the ethical and epistemological issues around persuasive influence today. The workshop represents a major step forward in both of these areas.

This workshop aims to apply these significant resources in the ancient philosophical tradition to these contemporary questions. This will, it is hoped, bring advances in our understanding of both the ancient philosophy and of the applied issues themselves. It also aims to model and map out a programme of further (esp. ancient) philosophical and inter-disciplinary work on rhetoric, dialectic, leadership ethics and the propriety of persuasive influence.

The Workshop

The workshop will thus bring together eminent philosophers (esp. ancient philosophers), leadership scholars and leadership practitioners in what is believed to be the first interaction of its kind. It promises (1) significant advances in the philosophical (esp. ethical and epistemic) evaluation of leadership methods. This will come through bringing the resources of a philosophical tradition – particularly ethical and epistemological discussions of rhetorical and dialectical method in ancient philosophy – to bear on how today’s leaders exert persuasive influence. It will also (2) challenge the ancient philosophical scholarship by subjecting its arguments and recommendations about the exercise of persuasive influence to scrutiny by those closely versed in the actual practice of persuasive influence over others’ behaviour.

The workshop will itself represent a major step forward in this area. It is planned as the first of a series of events, to constitute a larger research project, “Leading Minds”, and as setting the agenda for what follows. Thus the impact and effectiveness of the workshop will be carried forward in the subsequent project stages.

Workshop Objectives

1. To pilot the pursuit of research questions about the ethical and epistemic propriety of different kinds of uses of discourse (esp. dialogue-based, and using ‘rhetoric’) through the two disciplines of Ancient Philosophy and modern Leadership Studies. The workshop aims at giving academics in each of these disciplines some visibility of scholarly work on related topics in the other, and promoting interaction between them.
2. To bring both the above approaches into dialogue with senior leadership practitioners.
3. To identify fruitful research areas for the Leading Minds research project, and use these to develop a programme of research workshops 2014-17 for which funding will be sought.
4. To identify key participants suitable to contribute to this research, (i) in Ancient Philosophy; (ii) in Management / Leadership Studies; (iii) in other relevant disciplines (e.g. social psychology); (iv) among leadership practitioners. This is partly about identifying those whose work within their own discipline can contribute to this research programme, as well as those capable of working and interacting across disciplinary boundaries.
5. To begin the development of a local-and-international network of academics and practitioners interested in working on discourse and influence, and the ways in which themes from Ancient Philosophy can be brought into illuminating dialogue with themes in Management / Leadership ethics today.

The financial support of the Society for Applied Philosophy and of the Faculty of Arts in the University of Leeds are gratefully acknowledged.

Inquiries relating to the workshop should be directed to Jamie Dow.
[email protected]